The FCC's Kevin Martin told a Congressional committee this week that he favors …

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FCC chairman Kevin Martin appeared before a House committee this week to explain why he needs the authority to spend $313 million in the next fiscal year. Unlike most major government agencies, the FCC is largely self-funding. It receives only a direct appropriation of $1 million from Congress and raises the rest through regulatory fees. But more interesting than the budget request was Martin's support for a law forcing a la carte pricing on cable operators.

According to Multichannel News, Martin was responding to a question from Ralph Regula (R-OH), who wanted to know if Congress should consider action since cable operators have done nothing to offer a la carte pricing.

Martin said that he would support such legislation, saying that the FCC needed Congressional authorization before attempting to impose such a requirement on cable companies. Brian Dietz, a VP at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, was on hand to claim that this would be a really terrible idea and that it would actually raise prices for everyone (cable, as you know if you subscribe to it, has traditionally been focused on providing low prices).

Martin is pushing for a la carte over industry objections and his general light regulatory stance because the issue is dear to "family values" groups that want more control over the content piped into their living rooms. It's also big with fans of ESPN, a hugely popular network that is almost always bundled into expensive packages. If Congress gives the FCC the power to dictate a la carte arrangements, Martin has indicated that he would do so—but it's not clear such a move would pass muster with the other four commissioners.